Spirit Finders
by TheDarkLegate
Summary: When a paranormal "reality" show makes it's way to Kong Studios, they inadvertently help Russel discover some of the dark deals Murdoc has been making, and then have to find a way to stop what could turn out to be judgement day.
1. Prologue

"Alright," John murmured, "let me turn on… NIGHT VISION."

John hit a button on his video camera. Seth, who was standing across the hall from him, nodded and gave the thumbs up.

John hit another button, then returned the thumbs up to Seth.

"Welcome," Seth said, now grinning, "to another exciting episode of: SPIRIT FINDERS! Today, John and I are in the Saarne Institute, which had been abandoned years ago. The Saarne Institute is located in Estonia, and served as a hospital for the mentally insane. John and I have travelled all the way here to investigate sightings of what could be a very dangerous ghost- so put down that remote, and get ready for another thrill packed episode of-"

"SETH! BEHIND YOU!" John shouted.

Seth turned, and saw a black figure standing behind him. Seth opened up his mouth to scream, but was cut off when everything froze.

"Okay," said Mr. Burke, holding the television remote, "you boys DO realize that what's standing behind you, Seth, is your shadow?"

"No way, man," Seth said excitedly, "that was a vengeful spirit. If John hadn't seen it, we both could have been dead in seconds!"

"Uh huh," Burke said, rubbing his eyes.

"Of course," John said, "we can easily edit that part out. Might be a little too intense for the viewers at home."

"Right," Mr. Burke said, not bothering to argue.

John and Seth had been sitting in Burke's office, going over a taping of the latest episode of _Spirit Finders_. The Spirit Finders was, if you hadn't guessed, a paranormal reality show. John and Seth had a surprisingly successful first season, and had filmed the episode for the season two premiere.

"I figure this'll make for a good season opener," John said, "and we only had to travel half way around the globe for this footage."

"Right, well, we have some business to discuss first," Burke said, "especially about your new time slot."

"Woah woah," Seth began, "what the heck do you mean, new time slot?"

"Well," Burke began, "your reruns will air midnights on Saturday, Wednesday, and Thursday instead of the usual six p.m."

"I can dig it," Seth smiled, "the whole midnight creepiness vibe. What about the new episodes?"

Burke rubbed his face and sighed, which usually meant he was feeling stressed. Burke sighed, then pushed a button on his desk.

"Laura, could you send up Lucky, please?" Burke asked.

"Of course," came the reply.

Moments later, a relatively good-looking man with blonde hair stepped inside Burke's office.

"Hey, Burke, what can I do for 'ya?" he asked.

"Boys," Burke began, "this is Lucky. He'll be hosting a new music reality show, focusing on independent artists all around the city- he will be taking over your time slot."

"So what's our new time slot?" John asked.

"Well," Burke said, a little hesitantly, "unless you can come up with a better pilot episode, there won't be a new time slot."

"Unbelievable!" Seth shouted, slamming his apartment door open.

John stormed in behind him.

"After all we've done for that sleazebag, he just gives us the boot?" Seth shouted.

"Wait Seth," John started.

"I mean, the ratings were so awesome the first season!" Seth continued.

"Seth-"

"I can't believe it! I won't!" Seth shouted.

"SETH!" John shouted.

Seth turned quieted, then looked at John.

"Listen," John said, "Burke told us if we come up with a better pilot episode, we'll get a new time slot."

"How can we get a better episode?" Seth demanded.

"Not sure," John said, flipping on the TV, "not sure."

The two said nothing for a while.

That's when it happened- MTV cribs came on.

"Hey Seth," John said, "look at this."

Kong studios- home to some band. Neither John nor Seth picked up on the name- they just picked up on one thing- the statue of Pazuzu on top of the studio. Seth paused the TV, then turned to John.

"Google Kong Studios," Seth told John, "quick, quick!"

John turned on his laptop, and googled as fast as he could manage.

"It's home to the band Gorillaz," John said, "and it's located in England."

"Where, in England?" Seth asked.

"A place called Essex," John replied.

"Book us-"

"Two tickets there, first class, already done," John said triumphantly, "but it cost us the rest of our budget."

"That's alright," Seth said, "it'll be worth it."

Seth turned back to the TV, and fixated his eyes on the statue of Pazuzu. Something was in there, alright. And he was going to find out what.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Gorillaz will be in the next chapter, which I'll have out soon. For those of you wondering, the statue you see on Kong Studios and Plastic Beach, as well as on the cover of D-Sides, is really called Pazuzu. Pazuzu was also in the movie The Exorcist- it was allegedly a real demon, if you believe in those things. Also, the Saarne institute at the beginning is a reference to the movie Orphan- I'm not sure if it's real or not. You may have noticed another couple of references too, but anyway, I hope you enjoyed. The following chapters will be a lot longer than this prologue, and there should be about… eh, 3 or 4 more. Hope you enjoyed reading!


	2. The Ritual

Some people thought it was a gift- a miracle, of sorts. Others thought it was witchcraft. Some cultures praised it, while others abolished it. Stephen King called it The Shining- others called it The Sixth Sense. Still others dismissed it as nonsense.

Russell Hobbes didn't care what it was called- but what it came down to was being able to see and contact ghosts. He had the ability for as long as he could remember, but after his friends were gunned down, the ability intensified. His former friend Del began haunting him, and although he had the ghost exorcised, Russell still felt Del's presence on a daily basis.

The novelty of it had long since worn off. Frankly, Russell hated having it, especially now that he was in Gorillaz.

Russell was a bit of an insomniac at times- he just couldn't sleep some nights. So, he wandered around Kong, and usually the late night walk helped him sleep.

But sometimes the walk made things worse.

Russel, on his late nights walks, could occasionally catch a glimpse of certain things- things that frightened him. He couldn't see these shapes very clearly- but their presence was enough to send him into a state of panic. Russell was not a man to be scared easily, mind you, but these things…

These things were plain evil.

But to Russell, the night that had frightened him the most had occurred a few months ago.

On one of his late walks, he happened to pass Murdoc's Winnebago. Inside, he could hear Murdoc laughing and talking to someone. At the time, Russell had simply assumed it had been a working girl, as it was common of Murdoc to hire a few escorts home when he was out drinking.

But when Russell turned away, he heard Murdoc utter two very clear words that made him stop dead in his tracks-

"Blood Sacrifice."

John and Seth stood at the gate to Kong studios. It was midnight, and although nothing could be heard, the silence itself was nearly deafening.

The one thing that concerned the two friends was not that they were trespassing- they had done that plenty of times before.

No, what concerned them was that people were taking up residence there. One wrong move, and they could end up with a massive lawsuit on their hands.

Or maybe, since the people who lived here lived under a massive demon statue, they might not make it out.

All the more reason to go in, Seth figured.

Seth turned to John, who was now eating a bag of gummy bears.

"Alright," Seth said, "I want you to stay a good distance behind me when we first go in. If they see me first, I'll call out and you can book it out of here so they don't see the camera. I can just feed them a story that I got lost and need directions."

"Get lost all the way over here?" John asked.

"Shut up. There are such things as wrong turns, you know."

John was about to point out that they didn't have a car with them, but decided against it. It was really no use talking to Seth at this point- he was in the zone.

John didn't blame him; he wanted to save the Spirit Finders too. But really, the show was Seth's. It was he who had spent hours marketing on the phone, hours of research, and loads of money on equiptment.

Seth, much like Murdoc and Gorillaz, wasn't willing to let his show go down because someone else came along in hopes of taking his place. He would rather die than let that happen.

"Alright," Seth said, "start with a shot of that statue up there, I'll give the introduction, then we'll head in."

John nodded, then adjusted his camera to get a good shot of the statue. A moment later, he gave the signal to Seth.

"Kong Studios," Seth began, "home to more than just a world famous band? Welcome to another episode of Spirit Finders. John and I have travelled all the way to Essex to investigate the allegedly haunted Kong Studios. Is there really a demonic being here, as people seem to think? Or is it all a myth? Tonight we'll investigate the mysteries surrounding Kong, and see what lies in the hallowed halls of the studio. Get ready for our most thrilling installment yet, and join us as we FIND THE SPIRITS!"

"FIND THE SPIRITS!"

Noodle looked up from the picture she was drawing.

"2D-sama?" she called.

"Wot is it, luv?" came the reply a moment later.

"I thought you called for me," Noodle said.

"Wot? No, I didn't. Maybe it wa' Russell," 2D told her called back.

Noodle shrugged, then went back to her drawing.

Seth and John entered Kong studios, camera rolling. The studio was dark, and faint noises could be heard throughout the building.

"Alright," Seth said, "we're in Kong studios. Tonight, we're going to start upstairs and then work our way down."

The two looked for a staircase, but only succeeded in finding an elevator. It looked old- it would probably make way too much noise if they got in. Seth decided to risk it.

The duo opened the elevator, and hit the top button which was labeled "P rk ng L t". Seth realized the what it actually said was "Parking Lot" and that a few of the letters must have fallen off.

The elevator gave a sudden jerk as the doors closed, then began moving up.

Russell blinked. He knew he had heard the elevator start, but he had no idea who could possibly be awake at this time of night other than Murdoc, who was in his Winnebago anyway.

Russell rose from his bed, stretched, then made his way across the room. He considered grabbing a weapon such as a baseball bat, should it really be an intruder, but a man his size wouldn't really need it.

Besides, it was probably nothing.

The elevator came to an abrupt stop, and Seth and John piled out.

"This must be the lot," John mumbled.

Seth nodded, then motioned for John to continue filming.

"Alright," Seth whispered to the camera, "we're here in the Kong parking garage, which is right under the demon statue we showed you at the beginning of the episode. The demonic energy should be at a peak here. If-"

"Seth," John murmured, pointing into the distance.

Seth turned and looked where John had pointed. He could just barely make out the shape of a Winnebago.

Seth nodded to John, then the two began to make their way over.

Once they got closer, they could make out red candlelight illuminating the windows on the 'bago.

Seth motioned for John to head to the window. John held up his camera, and aimed it inside.

A man was sitting inside a ritual circle, surrounded by red and black candles. He appeared to be talking to someone, but neither Seth nor John could see anyone else.

"Alright," the man said, "I'll make you a deal- you can take the dullard. I can't give you the girl, she couldn't be replaced-"

The man stopped, as if listening to someone.

"You don't understand! Noodle is much more valuable than 2D! When I sold you my soul, you promised a famous, successful band! I can't do it without Noodle!" The man suddenly shouted.

Again, the man stopped talking, as if listening to someone.

"You don't understand! Noodle is much more valuable than 2D! When I sold you my soul, you promised a famous, successful band! I can't do it without Noodle!" The man suddenly shouted.

He stopped again.

"He's innocent as a child! Wouldn't that make his soul, I don't know, more valuable or something?"

The man fell silent once more.

"What do you mean it's not the SOUL you're after? What the hell else could you possibly want?" The man demanded.

The man stopped and listened for another few moments.

"I'm not sure that's something I want to be a part of."

Silence again.

"Very well," the man said, "take him, if you're only going to need him for one day."

John tried to get closer for a better shot, but he ended up bumping the Winnebago, which shook ever so slightly.

The man looked around quickly.

"Run," Seth whispered.

Then, the two ran back to the elevator, got inside, and slammed on the bottom floor button.

Murdoc ran outside of his Winnebago. It was no use; the elevator was already headed down. Who possibly could have seen all of that?

Murdoc ran his hands through his hair nervously. What if it had been Noodle or Russell? He would have been able to convince the dullard that it wasn't anything to worry about. Russell and Noodle on the other hand were a very different story.

Russell was just passing the elevator when the door opened and two scared young men ran out.

"HEY!" Russell shouted.

The two men stopped and turned around to face Russell.

"Who-" Russell began, then stopped, noticing John's camera.

"Is that a camera?" Russell demanded.

Seth stepped forward.

"Look, um, my name is Seth, that over there is John. We're from a TV show, we were just shooting a scene here-"

"At midnight?" Russell asked.

The two said nothing.

"Gimme that," Russell said, taking the camera from John, "and get outta' here. You're lucky I don' call the police on yo' asses."

He glared at the duo, and watched them skulk away towards the door.

Russell sighed, then looked at the camera. Instead of throwing it away immediately, Russell decided to see what they had recorded.

After fumbling with it for a few minutes, Russell had managed to get the video to play. He smirked when he saw the cheesey intro, and realized that the two were actually from a TV show. At least they hadn't lied; if there was one thing Russell hated, it was a liar.

For the first couple of minutes, there was nothing interesting on the video.

Then the two found Murdoc's Winnebago.

Russell saw Seth motion to John, and then the camera moved to the window of Murdoc's Winne.

When Russell saw what came next, his legs when numb. Murdoc was sitting in some sort of ritualistic circle, talking to what was clearly a demon.

"_Alright," the man said, "I'll make you a deal- you can take the dullard. I can't give you the girl, she couldn't be replaced-"_

"_Oh? Because Stuart can be?" the demon mused._

"_You don't understand! Noodle is much more valuable than 2D! When I sold you my soul, you promised a famous, successful band! I can't do it without Noodle!" Murdoc suddenly shouted._

"_And why," the demon yawned, "would I want Stuart?"_

"_He's innocent as a child! Wouldn't that make his soul, I don't know, more valuable or something?"_

"_Murdoc, you ignorant Brit, it's not a soul I'm after. Were that the case, I would have taken yours," The demon laughed._

"_What do you mean it's not the SOUL you're after? What the hell else could you possibly want?" Murdoc demanded._

"_One of our higher demons needs a vessel," the demon explained._

"_I'm not sure that's something I want to be a part of."_

"_Relax," the Demon said, "it's only for one day. Then he'll go back to hell, and put 2D's soul back in it's place."_

"_Very well," Murdoc said, "take him, if you're only going to need him for one day." _

Then the camera blurred for a second, and the two took off running.

What the hell? Russell thought. Murdoc couldn't seriously be thinking about doing something like that, could he?

Enraged, Russell began to make his way to the elevator. Once inside, he pushed the button to the parking lot.

He had to talk some sense into Murdoc- better yet, SMACK it into him.

John and Seth stormed out of Kong.

Seeing how miserable Seth looked, John said, "Hey, don't worry. We can just shoot somewhere else."

"Right. With what camera? Face it John, it's over," Seth groaned.

John fell silent. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move.

John turned to face it, then let out a scream.

"Seth!" John shouted.

"What?" Seth groaned.

John grabbed Seth's shoulder, then spun him around.

Seth soon saw what John was afraid of.

"ZOMBIES!"


	3. I Made You

(A/n: I forgot to say it last chapter, but thanks to all of you who reviewed and favorited! In response to a couple of reviews, I wanted to make Russell the main character because it seems every other story for Gorillaz these days is either 2D/Noodle, 2D/Murdoc, 2D/OC… well, you probably get the point.)

Murdoc had just finished cleaning up from the ritual when Russel kicked the door to the Winne clean off its hinges.

"What the hell Russ-"

"You mind explainin' why you just sold 2D out to tha' devil?" Russel demanded.

Murdoc blinked, surprised.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about," he murmured.

"Cut tha' crap, fool. Yo' lucky I don' beat yo' ass into next week," Russel told him.

Murdoc scowled.

"Just turn away now, Russ. I'll pretend you didn't say that, and you can forget about 2D-"

"How 'bout this, you start talkin' or in about three seconds you can 'pretend' I didn't put you through a wall," Russel retorted.

Murdoc saw the man was serious. There would be no talking his way out of this one.

"Fine," Murdoc said, "but you asked for it." With that, Murdoc walked over to the cupboard. He pulled out a bottle of rum and one glass, not bothering to offer a drink to Russel, who would have refused anyway.

"Well," Murdoc said, "the demons needed a vessel. They wanted it to be Noodle, not sure why, but I haggled with them. Now they'll be willing to use face ache. "

"You're really just going to give 'D to a bunch of demons?" Russel demanded.

"Relax, Russy, it's only for a day. Then they'll even give him his soul back and everything."

"Yo', something doesn't sound off about that to you?" Russel asked, "I mean, the demon ain't just stoppin' by for a cup of tea."

"'Course not," Murdoc agreed, "they-" but then he fell silent.

"They what?" Russel asked.

"They have a very elaborate plan, 's all." Murdoc said nonchalantly, pouring himself another drink.

"And what would that be?" Russel demanded.

"Like I would tell you," Murdoc scoffed, dowing his drink.

Russel grabbed Murdoc by the collar, and lifted him in the air.

"Look fool, you betta' start talkin' or I'll-"

Murdoc cut him off with laughter.

"Go ahead, Russ, do it. Take a look around, you're on MY playing field," Murdoc chuckled.

Russel looked around, and Murdoc was right. Russel couldn't tell what it was exactly, except that everything seems a bit darker, and the temperature was a bit cooler.

"So what," Russel asked, trying to not let nerves get the best of him, "you got a draft?"

"You hurt me," Murdoc growled, "and THEY will make sure you don't step foot outside of this Winnebago alive."

"Killin' you might be worth it," Russel said, raising a fist.

Murdoc just smiled.

The two remained in that position, staring each other down.

Russel couldn't have brought himself to murder, and both men knew it.

At last, Murdoc broke the silence.

"Face it Russ. I made you. I can break you just as easily. You aren't Noodle, and you aren't 2D. I can replace you with two, maybe three, phone calls. Put me down and walk away," Murdoc hissed.

Russel knew Murdoc was right. It would be easy to arrange for Russel to disappear, and even easier to cover it all up. The Satanist wouldn't even need demons for that- he could just tell everyone it was the gang war. That's how the rest of his friends went out, anyway.

At last, Russel dropped Murdoc.

As much as it killed him, Russel forced himself to turn and walk out of the Winnebago.

Once he was outside, he heard Murdoc call for him once more.

"That's right, walk away! I made you, Russ! I made you!"

And as much as Russel hated to admit it, Murdoc was right.

Seth and John retreated back into Kong studios, the moaning of the zombies not far behind them.

Once inside, the two fell to the floor panting.

"Okay," Seth muttered, "we need to find somewhere to hide that isn't near that big black guy."

"Yeah," John said, "but where?"

"Doesn't matter, as long as we can stay hidden until daylight. Zombies can't go out during the daytime," Seth explained.

"Really?" John asked.

"Sure. Now let's go."

After wandering around for a while, the two eventually found an empty Japanese style room.

"Huh," john said, taking a step forward.

Seth followed him in. The two could just make out the outlines of the room and the various objects inside of it.

"Hey Seth," John said, "what do you think is behind this wall?"

Before Seth could stop him, John opened up a sliding wall to reveal a giant head.

Before either of the two could scream, the head cut them off.

"IT'S DARE!"

All of a sudden, music started to play and disco lights turned on.

Seth turned to run, but stopped when he saw a small girl behind him. She shouted something in Japanese, then delivered a round house kick to Seth's stomach.

"IT'S DARE!"

2D opened his eyes, and scratched his head. It was a bit late for Noodle to be dancing around, wasn't it?

2D was about to go back to bed when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye.

"Hullo?" he called.

No response- but 2D could feel something's presence.

The dullard rose out of bed, and made his way across the room to his lamp. He extended one hand, and flipped the switch to on.

When 2D saw the figure across the room from him, he didn't have time to even blink before the figure lunged on top of him.

2D tried to cry out for help, but the figured grabbed 2D's head and smashed it against the ground, knocking him unconscious.

Then the figure began to drag 2D to the Winnebago.

Russel looked at his reflection in the mirror, and sighed. What had happened to him? A year ago, he would have smashed Murdoc's face in without a second thought. But now he just turned tail and walked away, letting Murdoc commence with his plan.

Well, if it was only for one day…

No! What was he saying? He couldn't just let something like that happen! What if the demon decided to destroy the world, for all he knew? He couldn't let it happen.

Russel felt more determined than ever.

All his life he had just been… there. Just in the background. At school, with his friends, during the gang war, even in his own band.

Not anymore- now he had to get up and do something.


	4. Risen Again

(A/N: Again, thanks so much to everyone who reviews and favorites! I usually don't respond to individual comments, but someone put down that this story should be getting much more attention than it is. Well, here's the thing about fanfiction. If you want to be happy and have fun, write what you want to. If you want popularity, write yaoi. I'm also pretty tired of these stories that have started showing up out of the woodwork. You know the ones- the yaoi stories that are all smut scenes, the romance stories that are cheesy and cliché. There were a bunch of fairly well written romance stories- but then it seems like a wave of suckiness just swept over all of fanfiction… meh. I'm ranting. Let's go back to the story, shall we? )

Russel was about to charge back up to the Winne when he heard Noodle shouting something from downstairs.

After all the years of acting like a father figure towards the girl, he turned and ran towards her room without even thinking about it. Murdoc could wait- if Noodle was really in trouble that was more important.

Seth watched in horror as the small girl beat John senseless. On occasion, she would shout something else in Japanese. For all Seth knew, it could have been "I love Gummy Bears", or even a war cry.

Either or, Seth did not want to partake in getting his ass handed to him by a small girl. He curled up in a ball and hid himself in a shadowy corner of the room. He began shaking, and the giant head started singing again.

"COMING UP! COMING UP! COMING UP! IT'S DARE!"

All of a sudden, the big black man who had taken John's camera earlier busted into the room.

"Noodle!" he shouted.

The girl stopped, then looked at Russel innocently. Russel looked from her, to John, to the talking head, then to me.

"You," he said, "come 'ere."

Seth thought that he was about to die- he wouldn't put it past the man to simply pick him up and smash his skull in. Nonetheless he approached the man. Why not humor him? It might earn him a few couple of minutes to live.

"Noodle," the man said, "there's a wad of money in my top right dresser drawer. Take two hundred dollars- I want you to go into the city, grab a hotel room and camp out there for a few days."

The girl was about to question him, but the man cut her off.

"There are a couple old, uh, friends o' mine. They were lookin' for me and came in here by mistake- in fact, me, Mudz, and 'D we're all gonna go camping. So we need you out of the house fo' a few days." The man told her.

"Why can't I stay here?" The girl asked.

"Because you know how Murdoc gets," Russel snapped. There girl said nothing else, but went and followed the man's orders.

The man sighed, then motioned to Seth and John.

"Names' Russel," he said. Before either of them could reply, he gestured for them to follow him.

"IT'S DARE!"

"Shut it, Shaun!" Russel called before leaving the room.

Russel lead John and Seth into what appeared to be a kitchen- neither John nor Seth could tell for sure, it was too dimly lit.

"I know I ain't in the position to demand nothin'," Russel began, "and I barely know you two. But I need yo' help."

"With?" john asked.

"That man you took a video of in the parking garage? His name is Murdoc. He summoned a demon," Russel told them.

"Okay," Seth said after a while, "how is that our problem, again?"

"I couldn' do it alone if I tried," Russel mumbled, "and I couldn' ask Noodle to help me. I wouldn't put her in harm's way like 'dat."

Seth opened his mouth to respond, but John piped up.

"Sur-"

Seth was quick in reflexes, however, and backhanded John before he could finish.

"Before we agree to anything," Seth smirked, "what's in it for us?"

"I can help you with your TV show," Russel promised.

Seth pretended to not be impressed.

"And what makes you think we need help?" Seth asked.

"Fine," Russel said, "be 'dat way. But if you ain't helpin', then 'yall bettuh get outta my house."

Seth got up to leave, but John turned to Russel.

"Alright," John told the man, "we'll help."

Meanwhile, Murdoc already had the chalk circle set up, and 2D was laying in the middle of it.

"Good," a voice called, "you managed to do it exactly as I instructed- right under the statue, yes?"

"Yes, although I don' see why that's so bloody important," Murdoc grumbled.

"Well, if we're summoning Pazuzu, the statue will act as a channel for the energy."

"Wait- we're summoning Pazuzu into 2D's body? Hyde, you bastard!" Murdoc shouted.

Hyde laughed.

"It's only for a day, Murdoc- and what could go wrong? Besides, its starting."

Murdoc looked around the room- it had grown darker, and the temperature dropped significantly.

Hyde appeared in front of Murdoc, who thought that he looked rather pleasant for a demon.

Hyde was dressed in a white suit, and had his hair slicked back greaser style.

"Let's get this started, shall we?" Hyde asked.

Hyde pulled a knife out of his pocket, and knelt down beside 2D. Hyde put the knife to the man's stomach, smirking.

"What the hell are you doing?" Murdoc asked, "You said you wouldn't kill him!"

"Well, I lied," Hyde said, "I mean, come on. I'm a demon- it's kind of what I do."

Hyde lifted the knife up, and the shoved it into 2D's chest.

2D gasped, now fully awake. He tried to get up, but he felt something being absorbed into his body.

Hyde stood up, and held his arms out. All the lights in the parking lot turned on, then burst into pieces.

Murdoc was thrown against a wall by an unseen force, and nearly blinded by a light that had now appeared over 2D's body.

There was a sudden pop- and then everything went back to normal.

Murdoc rose to his feet, then looked at Hyde, who just smiled.

Suddenly, 2D rose to his feet, smiling.

"Master?" Hyde asked.

2d said nothing at first.

"Is it…" Murdoc began.

"It is I, Pazuzu, demon prince-" 2D boomed,

"-and I have risen again."

(A/N: Oh, and sorry for not updating in a while. Stuff happened- and if my writing seems a little off, its because I'm doing this at midnight. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out, but I think it will be the last. Thanks for reading!)


	5. Spirit Finders

(A/N: I got my music, and I'm not half asleep, so this chapter should be way better than the last one! It also looks like it will be the final one. I have to say, even though this was a pretty short story, I enjoyed writing it immensely- thanks to everyone who took the time to read it!)

Hyde looked from what used to be 2D, and then to Murdoc.

"Well," Hyde smiled, "it is done."

Murdoc said nothing- he just sat there, panting heavily.

"Come now, Murdoc," Hyde said, "treat your master with a little more respect, will you?"

Hyde waved his hand, then Murdoc let out a howl of pain. Murdoc soon found he was forced into a bow.

"Good," Hyde smiled, "now then, master, what is your wish?"

"To feed," 2D growled.

Hyde gestured to Murdoc.

"All yours."

"Bah! HIS soul is filthy- that's a case of indigestion waiting to happen. No- I need something… a little more… innocent," 2D hissed.

"There is a child who resides here," Hyde yawned, "I'm sure you'll find she will do for the time being."

2D smiled.

"I'm sure she will."

"Alright," Russel told Seth and John, "I need you two to go back up into the parking lot with your camera. Just do a bit of filming, and then you can go- I just want to be sure what I'm up against."

"Why can't you do it yourself?" Seth demanded.

"I have a ghost that follows me around nearly everywhere," Russel said, "or, at least, he used to. If he still does, whatever is up there will detect him and find me in a few seconds."

"Fine," Seth said, "but you damn well better make it worth our while."

"See anything?" Seth whispered.

John shook his head.

"Not yet," he told Seth, "but- wait a sec, look over there."

Seth looked in the direction John was pointing.

Not too far off, the man they had seen before was talking with another man dressed in a white suit.

"They're standing in some sort of chalk circle," John whispered.

"That's lovely," Seth hissed, "zoom in, get a good look at it, then let's get the fuck out of here."

John zoomed in, and got to a position where he could get a good view of the circle.

"I haven't seen anything like it," John murmured.

Seth rolled his eyes.

"I'll be in the elevator," Seth whispered, then began to creep his way back.

John nodded, but his eyes never left the circle.

Then John noticed the man in the white suit make a quick gesture with his hand.

"Jesus!" Seth cried.

John turned around, and watched Seth fall to the ground, choking up blood.

"SETH!" John cried, rushing over to his friend.

"Oh boy," the man in the white suit laughed, "I haven't killed anyone in almost a week. I forgot how much fun it was!"

"No," John breathed, "Seth, come on, bro. You're okay."

John watched as Seth coughed out blood once more, then stop moving completely.

"what the hell is taking them so long?" Russel said aloud. All of a sudden, he heard a shrill scream.

"Noodle!" he exclaimed.

Russel rushed as fast as he could to the girl's room. Instead of trying the knob, he just kicked the door down.

"Noodle!" he cried, "What's-"

"Spider!" she shrieked, pointing into the corner.

Russel blinked. He was sure it would have been-

Then, out of nowhere, Russel was thrown across the room. 2D stepped in, smirking. No, it couldn't have been 2D- Russel could sense that it wasn't.

"Well then," 2D smirked, "come with me girl. Resist and I'll kill you both, understand?"

Noodle nodded, then followed him out of the room.

Eventually, Russel got to his feet.

He must be possessed.

If that were the case, Russel needed more help from someone he thought he would never want to see again.

"You didn' have t' kill 'em!" Murdoc shouted, "Damnit, Hyde!"

Hyde clenched his fist, and Murdoc felt a few of his ribs snap.

"Then maybe I should kill you instead, hm?" Hyde asked, "Bring your soul back to hell with me. That's a promotion right there."

Murdoc clenched his teeth.

"Or maybe," Hyde said, now smiling, "I'll bring the other members of your band up here, and kill them in front of you. How would you like that, Murdoc? To sit there, helpless, watching your friends die? Knowing that it was all your fault?"

Murdoc spat in Hyde's face.

Hyde pulled back his arm, the slammed his fist into Murdoc's face, knocking out a few teeth as well.

"Do that again," Hyde hissed, "I fucking dare you."

But Murdoc did not do it again; he just lie there, waiting for it all to end.

"Alright," Russel said, "listen. I know I have no business asking you for help- but I need you. You're the only one who can help us."

No answer.

"Look," Russel pleaded, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you more- I'm sorry I had you exorcised. Fuck it, I'm sorry I didn't die along with you during the ride by! But we need you, Del, or we're all going to-"

"Yo, Russ," an amused voice called, "don' need to go all pansy on me, 'ya dig?"

Hyde watched as his master returned, carrying a small girl.

"Well?" Hyde asked.

Hyde received no answer, but watched as 2D put the girl down.

"Who are they?" 2D asked, gesturing to John and Seth.

"I'm not sure," Hyde told him, "I killed one of them. I thought the other might make nice sacrifice. You know, summon a few more pals, really have a ballgame."

"I like your thinking," 2D yawned, "and what of Murdoc?"

"I think I'm taking him back with me," Hyde smiled, "we have no use for him up here anymore-"

"Sh!" 2D exclaimed, "do you- feel that?"

"'Sup y'all!' a voice called.

The two demons looked around angrily- what the hell was this about?

Russel stepped out of the elevator, glaring down 2D.

"You?" the demon scoffed, "What could you possibly want? Get out of here and enjoy the last few minutes of your life before I come for you."

"Now dats just plain rude!" a voice called.

Both demons looked around, now confused- it had not been Russel who had spoken.

"What is this?" Hyde demanded.

"That's just Del," Russel smirked.

"Del?" 2D asked.

Just then, a blue orb appeared and rushed into 2D's body.

2D stood there, shaking.

"What did you do?" Hyde demanded.

Russel charged at Hyde.

Hyde smirked, not even bothering to move. What could a human possibly do to hurt him?

But then, Russel's fist connected with Hyde's face, and the demon was sent flying.

"_What?"_ the demon exclaimed.

Just then, 2D opened his mouth, and black smoke poured out of it.

"Master!" Hyde exclaimed, "How-"

2D collapsed, and then Del popped out from his head.

The black smoke began to take on shape, and it attempted to float away, but Del managed to catch up to it.

The two forms struggled with each other for a moment, then there was an explosion of white light- and then nothing.

"No," Hyde hissed, "NO!"

Hyde waved his hand at Russel, who was launched across the room.

"I have come too far for a mortal to fuck things up for me," Hyde growled, "maybe if I kill all of you, the elders will let this incident slip. And I think I'm going to start with the fat one."

Hyde made his way across the room and grabbed Russel by the throat.

"Did you know," Hyde smirked, "it only takes nine pounds of pressure to crush the human throat? I think I'll take my sweet time and watch you squirm."

Russel was a strong man, and he had been able to hit Hyde before, but he could not break the demon's grip.

Murdoc watched the two struggle, calculating his options. He could get in the Winne and leave- just drive until he found a new country and a new band. Yes- that seemed best.

Murdoc managed to crawl across the parking lot to his beloved Winnebago, and hoist himself into the driver's seat.

Murdoc was about to drive into the car lift when he had… second thoughts.

Hyde tightened his grip around Russel's throat a bit more.

"I'd say that's about eight pounds of pressure," the demon growled.

Just then, Murdoc slammed his Winnebago into the demon, launching him into the far wall. Murdoc slammed on the gas pedal.

Moments later, Hyde was little more than a red splatter.

Murdoc got out of the 'bago, and examined the mess.

"Did that really kill 'em?" Russel asked.

"Wot? Course not! But I mean, he'll have to find a new vessel after this. He can't really do much damage as a pile of limbs, can he?" Murdoc retorted. Just then, Noodle and 2D began to stir.

John had remained by Seth throughout the entire scuffle.

Murdoc turned to leave.

"Hey! Mudz!" Russel called.

"Wot?"

"Thanks," Russel said, "I really thought you were gonna book it outta' here just then."

"So did I," Murdoc grumbled, then, "Oi! Face ache! Go clean up my Winnebago!"

Russel smiled. Well, that was Murdoc for you.

John stayed longer than everyone else at Seth's funeral- hours longer. Though the service had occurred around noon, John had stayed until long after midnight.

"Hey," a voice called.

John spun around to see Russel approaching.

"Hey Russ," John sighed.

"Listen," Russel said, "I'm really sorry about Seth- really, I am."

"Yeah," John agreed, "so am I."

"What are you gonna do now?" Russel asked.

"I guess continue with Spirit Finders," John said, "I mean, that was like Seth's kid. I want to keep it going- for his memory, you know?"

"Yeah," Russel agreed.

"I'll have to find a different network though," John muttered, "I didn't even get a video out of this."

"Not really," Russel said, "what about the ne you took at Kong? Scariest shit anyone's seen, I bet."

John blinked, and looked at Russel.

"But I can't use that tape," he pointed out, "I took it without permission-"

"Well, I'm givin' you permission," Russ said, "so there. It's the least I can do."

"Thank you," John smiled, "Seth would have appreciated that."

The two sat in silence a bit longer, enjoying each other's company.

EPILOGUE:

John sat in Mr. Burke's office.

"Well John," Burke said, "that's quite an incredible tape you showed me."

"I know," John said.

Mr. Burke stood up, and for the first time John really noticed the man's appearance. White suit, slicked back hair- vaguely familiar, somehow.

"While I would like to hire you back," Mr. Burke smiled, "I'm afraid I can't."

"Why the fuck not?" John shouted, in shock.

"Because," the man said, now grinning, "we can't have a TV show if all the cast members are dead."


End file.
